History and myth of the Cradle of Civilization, bronze age Mesopotamia, beginning with the dawn of writing. The show will cover the full history of Mesopotamia, from Gilgamesh to Nabonidas, a span of some 2500 years, with myths of heroes and gods, and tales of daily life peppered throughout. Sumer, Akkad, Old Babylon, Hittites, and Israel have all been covered in depth, current episodes get deep into the Assyrian Empire. New episodes every other Wednesday. Online at oldeststories.net.
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Babylon had survived five destructions before Sennacherib tried to erase it for good. Why did Assyria's most bookish king — a man who loved Babylonian scholarship — finally flood the city and smash its temples in 689 BCE? This is Oldest Stories, a biweekly deep dive into ancient Mesopotamia. Online at oldeststories.net In this episode we trace Babylon's strange immortality: a city founded around 1894 BCE that claimed six thousand years of history by borrowing it from Eridu, the first city of the...
Sennacherib is remembered in the Bible as a villain, the Assyrian king who invaded Judah and stood against Jerusalem. But that reputation, like his father Sargon’s as a world conqueror, may be misleading. Beneath the image of the tyrant is a ruler who was unusually patient, deeply pious, and more interested in building than destroying. In this episode of Oldest Stories, we enter the Sargonid period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and examine the life and character of Sennacherib. Raised not as a dest...
This episode examines the final major campaign of Sargon II of Assyria (reigned 722–705 BCE) and the long conflict with the Chaldean ruler Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan) for control of Babylonia. Early in Sargon’s reign the Neo-Assyrian king suffered a serious defeat near the city of Der when an Elamite army intervened in support of the Babylonian revolt. The loss allowed Merodach-Baladan, leader of the Bit-Yakin Chaldean tribe, to claim the throne of Babylon and rule much of southern ...
How does one "do" history, and can an AI do it? The answers:1. You don't "do" history, you feel it.2. AI can do the actions of history, but it can't feel it.Bonus rant: I never liked the idea that the point of history is to learn from the past. Yes, there is learning to be done, that can be both useful and fun, but I feel that this reduces history to something less than it is in practice. And indeed, think about your own consumption of history, how often are you learning valuable lessons compare...
Oldest Stories Album available here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/oldeststoriesmusic/oldest-stories-vol-1 but also possibly on your favorite music distributor service also. Check it out! This episode examines the middle years of the reign of Sargon II of Assyria (r. 722–705 BCE) during a brief period when the Assyrian Empire faced unusually little large-scale war. Following Sargon’s major victory over Urartu in 714–713 BCE, the geopolitical balance of the Near East shifted dramatically. Ura...
This episode explores how the Neo-Assyrian Empire actually functioned at the administrative level under Sargon II, focusing on imperial bureaucracy, logistics, and governance. Using surviving Assyrian letters and court records, we examine the real machinery of empire: provincial governors, royal magnates, intelligence networks, military command structure, taxation, construction logistics, and the role of officials like the Rab Shaqe, Turtan, Sukkallu, Sartinnu, Ummanu, and Masennu. Rather than f...
In this episode of Oldest Stories, we cover Sargon II of Assyria and his most famous campaign: the Great Invasion of Urartu (714 BCE), centered on the extraordinary Assyrian text known as Sargon’s Letter to Ashur. This episode examines the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Assyrian military strategy, intelligence networks, and imperial warfare in the late 8th century BCE, drawing directly from Assyrian royal inscriptions, letters, and annals. We follow Sargon II (r. 722–705 BCE) from the construction of Dur-...
In this episode, we break down the composition of the Neo-Assyrian Army under the Sargonid dynasty (Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, and their successors) and explain why Assyria’s battlefield dominance in the 8th–7th centuries BCE was not just “more men” or “more brutality,” but a specific military system built around logistics, organization, and a flexible combined-arms force. You’ll learn what the core Assyrian infantryman looked like in practice: a general-purpose soldier equipped for multipl...
In this episode of Oldest Stories, we step back from the famous conquests of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to ask a more fundamental question: what did ancient warfare actually look like on the ground, and how did the Assyrian army emerge from thousands of years of evolving combat traditions? Focusing on the world that produced the Sargonid military system, this episode examines the deep origins of organized warfare in Mesopotamia, from tribal raiding and Bronze Age spear lines to the psychological me...
Today we attempt an immersive historical reconstruction of Dur-Sharrukin, the short-lived but astonishing capital built by Sargon II of Assyria in the late eighth century BCE. Set primarily in 706 BCE, this episode takes the listener on a guided tour of the city at the height of its splendor, using a fictional Urartian envoy as a narrative lens to explore what may be the most ambitious urban project of the ancient Near East. Drawing closely on archaeological evidence, royal inscriptions, and com...
Apologies for my voice and the lack of graphics. Been sick again and barely got this out today. Episode 179 examines the founding, construction, abandonment, and rediscovery of Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad), the short-lived royal capital built by Sargon II of Assyria in the late eighth century BCE. The narrative begins with the history of early Mesopotamian excavation through the career of Paul-Émile Botta, whose 1843–1844 work near Mosul and Khorsabad helped inaugurate Assyriology and introduced Eu...
Sargon II of Assyria faces a crisis of legitimacy after a humiliating defeat, but transforms potential disaster into triumph through military genius and calculated brutality. This episode chronicles his desperate 720 BCE campaign from Mesopotamia to the Levant, where he perfects combined arms warfare and decimates Samaria so thoroughly that ten tribes of Israel vanish from history. Following his controversial rise to power, Sargon must prove divine favor through victory or lose everything. Watch...
Listen all the way to the end for a special musical feature about Sargon II. This episode explores one of the most pivotal and least understood turning points in Neo-Assyrian history, examining the rise of a king whose origins, motives, and very name remain contested even after a century of scholarship. These are the Oldest Stories, available at OldestStories.net. Note that the song at the end of the episode is AI generated. In 722 BCE, Sargon II seized the Assyrian throne and entered an eightee...
In 727 BCE, the death of Tiglath-Pileser III—one of Assyria’s greatest reformers and conquerors—brought to the throne his son Ululayu, known to history by his regnal name Shalmaneser V. This episode of Oldest Stories examines the short, poorly documented, yet pivotal reign of Shalmaneser the Least, exploring the troubled transition between the age of Tiglath-Pileser’s reform and the rise of Sargon II. Drawing on fragmentary Assyrian records, biblical sources, and archaeological evidence, the epi...
Yes, there are more important things in the Syro-Ephraimite war than Israel's defeat, but the whole three year campaign is hugely important in world history, even if the things we consider to have been important were really just sort of side shows to the main action. We follow the full campaign in detail as Tiglath-Pileser confirms his final near eastern conquest. I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories daily on Tiktok and Yo...
Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast and James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories podcast sat down to discuss Mesopotamian myth from an occult perspective. But they ended up sitting for hours and hours over multiple days and got off track more than once. Because I find a bunch of it interesting, I cut the most interesting clips together for you today, so hear you can hear Nathaniel's take on the oldest archeological findings, King Arthur, Josephus, and more! The Grail Sciences Podcast c...
Gilgamesh is the oldest and greatest hero of recorded human legend. The epic as a whole questions what it means to be human, warns of the dangers of spurning a beautiful woman, and meditates deeply on the meaning of immortality. All that plus a good adventure story at the same time! James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories Podcast sits down with Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast to discuss this ancient tale from both an historical and an occult perspective. The Grail Sciences Podcast...
Dumuzid, the oldest known exemplar of the dying and rising king, is also in many ways the most exceptional. Lover of Inanna, he was apparently quite done with her passionate antics and celebrated when she died, only to be dragged into the underworld for his impiety. But what does it really mean and why has the image endured? James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories Podcast sits down with Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast to discuss this ancient tale from both an historical and an occ...
Inanna, queen of heaven, who descended into the underworld. It is among the oldest stories of the mythology of the world, but also one of the most significant. James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories Podcast sits down with Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast to discuss this ancient tale from both an historical and an occult perspective. The Grail Sciences Podcast covers the deeper meaning of the Holy Grail and a variety of occult topics. Nathaniel is deeply read in a variety of world ...
In this episode of Oldest Stories, we explore the later reign of Tiglath-Pileser III, one of the most transformative kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. By the late 8th century BCE, Assyria’s power seemed unstoppable, yet beneath the victories lay structural weaknesses. We examine four key failures that reveal how the empire actually worked: The eastern provincial revolts of 737 BCE, exposing the limits of Assyria’s new provincial system. The failed Assyrian siege of Tushpa, capital of Urartu, and...
What do mass deportation, smashed testicles, and elite boarding schools have in common? In this episode, we take a hard look at the shockingly effective—and horrifyingly brutal—bureaucratic machine that powered the Neo-Assyrian Empire. With the rise of Tiglath-Pileser III in the 8th century BCE, Assyria transformed into one of the most ruthlessly efficient states the ancient world had ever seen. At the center of it all? Castrated boys turned bureaucrats—eunuchs molded through violence, trained i...
You have seen the memes, and maybe you are even familiar with them, but today we look at who was the famous Ea-Nasir, why people would buy from him, and what scams he was probably running. We ask how often Mesopotamians complained about things, and we learn a bit along the way. In this episode, we go far beyond the famous complaint tablet to uncover the full economic and historical context of Ea-Nasir's career: His rise from wage-earner to property owner - His role in the first global trade netw...
In 743 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser III—known in the Bible as Pul—led the Assyrian Empire into its most powerful and centralized form. This episode of Oldest Stories chronicles the dramatic military and political resurgence of Neo-Assyria as it faced two major threats: the rising Urartian kingdom of Biainilli to the north and the rebellious patchwork of Neo-Hittite and Aramean states in Syria. With detailed narrative drawn from Assyrian royal inscriptions and biblical texts, we explore Tiglath-Pileser’s...
This episode is the essential starting point for understanding the Neo-Assyrian Empire. In 745 BCE, a relatively obscure man named Tukulti-Apil-Esharra—better known by his biblical name Tiglath-Pileser III—seized the Assyrian throne in what would become one of the most transformative moments in ancient Near Eastern history. This episode explores how Tiglath-Pileser's revolutionary reforms reshaped the military, administration, and ideology of the Assyrian state, laying the foundation for the lar...
Before its ultimate resurgence, the Neo-Assyrian Empire faced a profound period of decline from 783 BCE, characterized by ineffective kings like Shalmanassar IV, Ashur-Dan III, and Ashur-Nirari V. Power shifted to influential magnates who governed like kings, maintaining heartland stability amidst collapsing vassalages. The era was also plagued by natural disasters, revolts, and a breakdown of social order, culminating in a crisis that necessitated the revolutionary rise of Tiglath-Pileser III.
In this episode of Oldest Stories, we return to the Armenian Highlands in 786 BCE to witness the death of King Menua of Urartu (Biainilli) and the rise of his son Argishti I—a transition that begins the golden age of the Urartian kingdom. Explore the geopolitics, warfare, urbanization, and social engineering of one of the most impressive and least understood Iron Age empires. We trace Argishti I’s ruthless expansion across Anatolia and the Caucasus, highlighting his staggering military campaigns...
Buy the Oldest Stories books!: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS :In this episode of Oldest Stories, we explore the complex military and political history of Urartu during its northern campaigns in the early 8th century BCE. As King Menua consolidates power and expands Biainilli influence into the Armenian Highlands, he clashes with the highland polities of Etiuni and Diauehi—two distinct yet influential groups whose stories illuminate the ethnic, linguistic, and political diversity of the Iron Age Caucasu...
Sorry for the late post - Spotify had this scheduled, but didn't post it on the correct day. Today we look at the daily life and industry of the Armenian highland kingdom of Urartu through the eyes of three Hurrians, a miner, a smelter, and an iron worker. This is a historical fiction, but it is based on what we can know about the industries and daily life of that era. I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok,...
Today we witness the transformation of Urartu—called Biainilli in its own time—from a fledgling mountain kingdom into a formidable Iron Age empire that would challenge Assyria itself. Following Sarduri’s founding of Tushpa, his successors Ishpuini and Menua laid the military, economic, and administrative foundations of a true state. We explore the first co-regency in Urartian history, Ishpuini’s early conquests and fortress-building campaigns, and Menua’s monumental engineering projects—especial...
In this episode, we explore one of the most dramatic and mysterious transformations in ancient Near Eastern history: the sudden rise of the Kingdom of Urartu—known to its own people as Biainilli—under the leadership of Sarduri I, son of Lutipri. From roughly 835 BCE, Sarduri doesn't merely shift a capital; he constructs an entire state system seemingly from the ground up on the eastern shore of Lake Van. We examine the enigmatic origins of the Bia people, Sarduri’s audacious construction of the ...
